Living Sustainably: Grow Lights 101

Ok, yes you can argue that using electricity to grow things indoors is counter productive - but I’m trying to balance self sustainability and minimal energy consumption - so hear me out!

If you’re going to grow vegetables from seed anywhere that you have a freezing season, you’ll probably need a small setup with lighting for growth. If you have a sunny south facing window, you may be all set, but many people still prefer to set up a grow light for consistent growth.

Here’s a quick guide to your grow light options:

Spot Grow Bulbs – Incandescent Grow Lights
Spot grow bulbs are excellent for spotlighting specific plants - like tropical plants, small groups of plants and they can be effective for starting your seeds. This means that you may want a general light source, like a fluorescent system and then use the spot grow bulbs to supplement.

Spot Grow Bulbs can be used in most standard incandescent fixtures but ideally, you’ll want a fixture that can be clipped to a specific location or hung directly where you need it. They should not be too close to your plants because they run hotter and can cause damage.

Fluorescent Grow Lights
Fluorescent grow lights are well regarded for offering low heat, indoor plant growth light. You can actually get these in multiple fixtures whether hanging or even built into a plant cart. There are also compact fluorescent grow lights for maximum light and minimal energy consumption.

High output fluorescent grow lights are also well regarded and put out the most light of any fluorescent bulb for growing. You can use these for cutting propagation, seeds and seedlings, and any planting that is less than three feet tall. One of the largest benefits of using fluorescent grow lights is their low heat. They can be as close as four inches away from plants without damaging them in any way.

High Intensity (HID) Grow Lights
High intensity plant grow lights are very bright and strong and can actually be used to grow small herb gardens and fruiting vegetables like tomatoes indoors. High intensity lights usually come in metal halide(MH) type which is great for natural appearance and growth and sodium (HPS) which is excellent for the fruiting and flowering cycle. In fact, metal halide grow lights are the closest to natural sunlight and they produce plants that look the most like those grown in the outdoors.

I, for one, have fluorescent tube lighting fixtures over my greenhouse trays. But I’m tempted to test the energy consumption of a metal halide system to experiment with some leafy green vegetables and fresh herbs all winter long!